


My Greatest Rival

by Naika



Category: Pocket Monsters Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: But Actually Hop Comforts You, Comforting Hop, Elevator hugs, F/M, Fluff, Implied Romance, Protecting that smile, SPOILERS kind of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21769429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naika/pseuds/Naika
Summary: Post-semifinal elevator hugs with Hop. Takes place in Rose Tower, of course. I need this just as much as you do.
Relationships: Hop/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 156





	My Greatest Rival

The floor climbed higher, carrying both you and the boy across from you with it, as it had always been. Even when one of you would pull ahead in the gym challenge, you were still together, rising hand in hand: the trainers endorsed by Lee himself. But now…

It was your dream, too: to claim victory at the Champion Cup. It was all you wanted, or so you thought. Then the semifinals came around, and you realized what you wanted more than anything was to see the floor lift the boy in front of you into the sky–to see him happy; to see him beat you.

At least you knew the fire in his yellow gold eyes would never stop burning. It was always there. But it was flickering, now, searching far and wide for acceptance. He was your best friend, and you knew him too well to ignore what lay behind the face he wore for you now: that face of selfless pride. And it was real pride, of course, because he was happy for you, but you kept remembering how it felt to win.

The crowd roared, they were calling your name, but you didn’t want them to cheer for you. Don’t applaud me for breaking his heart, you thought.

You didn’t want the elevator to reach the next floor of trainers just yet. You had to say something to him.

“Hey, Hop?”

“Yeah?”

“I…” Your words died before you could give them life. What speech could possibly express the depth of the feeling in you, now? Your chest ached the more you looked at him, and the more he looked back at you, the harder it was to speak. Before the silence could stretch any further, you threw your arms around him and began to weep. This was certainly not what you had in mind.

If he was taken aback, you wouldn’t have guessed it. His arms came around you naturally, because that’s what he always did for you. If you hugged him, he returned it without question. If you cried, he held you tighter. The reasons for these things didn’t matter, because it was you and Hop. It was always you and Hop.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he said, one of his hands painting soothing circles on your back.

“It’s not okay,” you managed to get out, your voice muffled on account of your face being buried in his chest. “You should’ve won. I want you to be the champion.”

“But you won, fair and square.”

“But you…” You fumbled through your tears. “You’ve always wanted this, ever since we were kids. And when we were on the road… you were so excited. And I…” You choked. “I took it away from you.”

He gently stroked your hair. You felt safe here, even though you were ascending to the top of Rose Tower, uncertain of what trouble awaited you at the end; even though you were pouring your heart out all over Hop’s shirt, it didn’t matter. You were safe, because it was Hop, and no one else.

You realized just how cold you had been on the other side of the moving room, an afterthought, now, only noticed because of contrast: the warmth of his arms, enclosing you in the smell of Hop and home; the years you’d spent knowing each other before you stood opposite one another on the battlefield. But this time, you were battling together.

“You didn’t take it away from me,” he told you softly. “It just turns out that this was your story, not mine.” You could hear a smile coloring his voice, then, and your overwhelming sadness pulled back just a little, because that was all you wanted: for him to always be smiling.

And so, you couldn’t help but smile, too, when he said, “And I was your greatest rival.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hop is hands down my favorite part of Sword & Shield. I wanted him to win so badly, and knowing that it was basically his destiny to lose to me throughout the game kind of crushed me. So, I thought it my duty to write this. Hopefully it can provide you with some much needed warm, happy feelings, too.  
> Anyways, thanks for reading! Have a great day! <3


End file.
